When the magical Princess Rosalina is captured, Princess Peach decides she must be the one to rescue her, leaving Mario and Luigi in charge of the Mushroom Kingdom. Things quickly go wrong when Bowser Jr. arrives, determined to free his imprisoned (and tiny) father, who has supposedly been trying to rehabilitate himself. Before you can say “Mamma Mia!”, everyone is sent to various planets across the galaxy. Peach goes to a space casino searching for information. Bowser gets sentenced to hard labor in a space bee colony. Fox McCloud shows up. Mario and Luigi get turned into babies. And oh yeah, Yoshi’s in this!

Not since Frozen II has an animated sequel been as inevitable as The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. After the attempt to do a live-action blockbuster back in 1993 immediately ran out of lives at the box office, everyone’s favorite hopping plumbers had to wait three decades before anyone would be willing to take another swing at a Mario flick. The second time proved to be the charm, as The Super Mario Bros. Movie achieved a high score with ease. Nintendo and Illumination set out to start a new cinematic franchise, and to say it paid off might be an understatement. In fact, the IP is arguably more popular than ever.

Now, let it be stated before the Koopa Court that I am a casual Super Mario fan. I’ve enjoyed the games whenever I’ve taken the time to pick up a controller, but I’ve only ever tackled a fraction of them. This includes Super Mario Galaxy, which I’ve never given a try, but I’m aware it’s right up there with Yoshi’s Island (which I have played) and Super Mario Odyssey (which I haven’t) as one of the most beloved entries in the franchise. So I can’t Nintendo Directly compare The Super Mario Galaxy Movie to its source material. Does that mean I’m unfit to review it? You tell me. However, I intend to Continue anyway.

What I can use as a Strategy Guide is the previous film, which I quite liked. It fully committed to the eight-bit, even going so far as to allow its All-Stars to consume actual power-ups without even attempting to provide a logical explanation for them. And I respected that. I even thought its inclusion of classic pop songs was well done, despite so many fanboys on the internet accusing them of being used for the sake of shying away from being a video game flick, which was ironic considering The Super Mario Bros. Movie was almost unquestionably the most video gamey video game movie ever made.

Here’s the easiest takeaway from The Super Mario Galaxy Movie: it’s fun. You like fun, you’re going to get fun here! It has most of the ingredients that made the first film so rewatchable. Non-demanding entertainment has its value, as I’m not always in the mood for the incinerator sequence in Toy Story 3. Sometimes a gorilla in a sport coat is all I need. So if you enjoyed what came before, you’ll probably have a good time (of course, you’ve most likely already done that, since I’m kind of late getting this write-up published, but I digress).

For better or worse, though, it also has a lot of worlds to get through, and for some, it might get pretty overwhelming. This is a very busy adventure, cramming so much into its runtime that you might be caught off guard when the credits abruptly start rolling. It feels like it has barely finished its first act before double-jumping full-speed ahead into its climax. Characters come and go almost as rapidly, either never showing up again or being off-screen for so long you’ll almost forget they were even there.

Is that a “bad” thing? Not necessarily. I think faulting a Super Mario film for being hyperactive isn’t really a valid criticism. No one is really buying a ticket to this only for the plot, after all. Still, that doesn’t mean there can’t be a middle ground. I’ve often seen the 2023 outing faulted for having an overly simple narrative, but really, keeping things on easy mode is what allowed for it to include all of the mushroom mayhem it wanted without ever feeling like it was too much. Mario wanted to save his brother. Bowser wanted to marry Peach. Peach wanted to protect her kingdom. All of the major players had clear and established goals.

Compare that to the sequel, where Bowser’s motivations especially seem less determined by his character and more by what the story requires him to do. He switches sides as though he’s using a password system to skip ahead several levels, erasing his Bowser history. His “arc” (or “anti-arc” as some might say) maybe would’ve benefited from a longer loading screen. On the other side of that, Rosalina has been central to the film’s marketing with the single coolest moment in all the trailers, so many will likely be disappointed to find out she has very little to do, spending most of her screen time locked in Bowser Jr.’s cage (then again, to play Devil Mario’s advocate, it’s sort of refreshing to see this series finally give itself permission to have one of its heroines be in actual danger, something the filmmakers seem terrified of doing with Peach).

But let’s be real. In a video game, it’s rarely about the cutscenes. The main attraction is the gameplay. And in that regard, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie succeeds. This is quite possibly Illumination’s most action-packed film to date, and when it’s on, it’s like Donkey Kong (who only has a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo). While I’m not sure if anything quite reaches the dizzying effect of the kart racer sequence in the prior out, it nevertheless constantly dazzles, whether it’s Princess Rosaline’s spectacular battle scene which opens the film, Bowser Jr.’s many creative uses of a paint brush weapon capable of creating anything he wishes, or Peach facing off against an endless wave of enemies armed only with her trusty parcel in a gravity-defying criminal underworld arena.

And the animation and direction are up to match, with multiple brawls being captured in single long shots to truly recreate the feeling of experiencing the joy that can come with a joystick. This is a fitting colorful escapade, with plenty of Easter Eggs hidden (and not-so-hidden) that even fans who only recognize them from YouTube retrospective videos will appreciate. It is a shame that the climatic confrontation feels underwhelming compared to everything else that came before, with the final boss being taken out all too easily.

As in the previous entry, the cast has plenty of replay value. Though it’s become popular opinion to say otherwise, Chris Pratt makes a really good Mario, giving the hero appropriate blue color charm. Jack Black, to the surprise of no one, remains the MVP as Bowser, making the villain lovable and hilarious. It’s clear he’s having a blast playing him. Benny Safdie is an excellent match as Bowser Jr., although I will admit I initially thought his voice was also Black’s but at a higher pitch. The duo play off each other very well, though, particularly during a flashback scene where Bowser puts on a puppet show for his kid (and I think uses actual live-action puppets?), which is a comedic highlight.

Donald Glover is a surprise addition as Yoshi, completely unrecognizable but still fitting into those red shoes comfortably. Brie Larson is fine for her five minutes or so of screen time (well, voice time) as Rosalina. Glen Powell is perfectly cast as Fox McCloud, even if purpose seems to largely be to tease a potential spin-off film. And Kevin Michael Richardson might be the most underrated member of the ensemble, once again doing a spot-on Peter Lorre impression that would make Mel Blanc proud.

Though its story may have more than a few glitches (the Yoshi’s Island detour feels like a DVD bonus short, rather than anything instrumental to the plot), The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is still a fun if not essential playthrough, providing a shroom-powered sugar rush for those willing to insert a few coins into its machine. It won’t win any “Game of the Year” awards, but many will still want to 100% it.

		The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Universal Pictures, Illumination, Nintendo Entertainment April 1, 2026 98 minutes Rated PG Directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic